[en] Pakistan imports rayon grade pulp from different countries for viscose rayon fibre manufacturing. Samples of imported pulp were collected and analyzed for alpha-cellulose, hemicellulose, calcium, magnesium, silica, copper, manganese, and iron. Moisture, ash content, cuprammonium viscosity, degree of polymerization, alkali absorption, and colour brightness were also determined. The results showed that all these parameters varied from sample to sample. The cotton linter pulp contained high alpha-cellulose content (94-98%) as compared to the softwood pulp (89.7-95%). Degree of polymerization of all samples was above 500 and varied from 500-750 ml/g. the study showed that higher manganese and copper content in cotton decreased the degree of polymerization. Iron above the standard value (7-10 ppm) affected the brightness of fibre, as observed in the case of cotton linter pulp (imported from China). The percentage of ash was less than 0.25% in all samples studied. (author)

[en] Mannozym radioprotection effect was tested on bone marrow strains of BALB/c mice. The number of splenic colonies formed in mice sacrified eight days after total irradiation is higher in mannozym protected mice than in those which have received hemopoietic cells suspension only. The radiation dose reduction factor (DRF) is 1,6. These results indicate mannozym radioprotection effect on bonne marrow strains cells.

[en] A suggestion is made instead of using coloured material carriers - the cones and cylindrical tubes in spinning mills and weaving mills are given as example - to use such ones which change colour with irradiation and keep this colour until a new radiation impulse causes a new colour which differs well from the first one. (No data on material or type of radiation are given.) (UWI)

No abstract available

[en] In this paper, authors are studying some techniques for the analyse of Twangiza gold mineral. Granulometric analysis and neutron activation analysis was first used for this purpose. Results showed that there are an important amount of gold, silver and arsenic mostly in F₆ and F₇. Those three metals can be taken in consideration in this gold mine.

[en] Fibers of different textile materials such as polyesters, viscose, and wool are analysed using TXRF yielding a 'fingerprint-type' trace element pattern. This pattern can be compared with quantitative results obtained from weighable amounts, e.g. 50 μg of the material. It can be shown that, besides the omnipresent elements Ca, Fe, and Zn, some of these materials contain specific elements such as P, Mn or Sb and that an identification is possible using these elements even when very small amounts of sample are involved (i.e. sub-microgram). Many synthetics contain Ti as a matting additive, thus the Ti concentration can be used to further differentiate the sample material. (author)

[en] Highlights: • Microfibers are present worldwide in marine sediments and seawater • Microfibers represent the most important percentage of microplastics, up to 100 % • The most abundant color in microfibers is blue. • Microfibers ranged from 0 to 459681 items·km^{- 2} in seawater and from 3 to 40 items per 250 g DW in sediments. • Polypropylene is the main polymer in microfibers analyzed - Abstract: The objective of this review is to summarize information on microfibers in seawater and sediments from available scientific information. Microfibers were found in all reviewed documents. An heterogeneous approach is observed, with regard to sampling methodologies and units. Microfibers in sediments range from 1.4 to 40 items per 50 mL or 13.15 to 39.48 items per 250 g dry weight. In the case of water, microfibers values ranges from 0 to 450 items·m^{− 3} or from 503 to 459,681 items·km^{− 2}. Blue is the most common color in seawater and sediments, followed by transparent and black in the case of seawater, and black and colorful in sediments. Related with polymer type, polypropylene is the most common in water and sediments, followed by polyethylene in water and polyester in water and sediments. Some polymers were described only in water samples: high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene and cellophane, whilst only rayon was reported in sediments.

[en] The industrial cord fabrics are used for reinforcing of tyre carcass. Tyre reinforcing elements carry the major share of the structural load of the automobiles. For the better service life of a tyre, the reinforcing material should exhibit excellent strength properties, fatigue resistance, modulus, cord-tyre adhesion level, and dimensional stability. The tyre cord fabrics can be produced with different type of materials. Yarns offered at the market, are namely, Polyamide 6 and 66, Polyester, Rayon and Aramid. One of the successful industrial application of radiation processing has been the pre-vulcanization of tyres imparting shapes stability prior to final vulcanization. Since tyre is a composite of reinforcing materials and rubber compounds, the influence of high energy irradiation on the reinforcing materials, i.e. on the textile cord needs to be investigated. In this study, gamma irradiation of high tenacity nylon 66 and polyester tyre cords was investigated. The untreated tyre cords with different twist levels were irradiated in air. The changes in the mechanical and thermal properties with absorbed dose were measured. The mechanical properties were deteriorated with increasing dose for nylon 66 cords, while almost unchanged for polyester cords. Hot shrinkage for the nylon cords was found to be improved, i.e. decreased. A slight decrease in the hot shrinkage of irradiated polyester cords was also observed. It has been found that the effect of irradiation on both nylon 66 and polyester cords was not dependent on the twist levels of the cords. It is also concluded that polyester cord has higher radiation resistance than nylon 66 cord, and polyester cord seems to be more suitable reinforcing material for pre-vulcanization of tyres with high energy radiation

[en] In the process industry, it is often necessary to study the process parameters such as the residence time, flow rate, etc., under different operating conditions and equipment. The tracer technique represents in this respect an outstanding and even sometimes singular means of determining some of the above parameters. A method consisting of the introduction of a radioactive tracer at the input of a flow system under study and subsequently determining the distribution of activity with time at the output end is described. The form of the activity time curve depends on the parameters of the installation and the mode of operation. A study conducted at a multi-stage viscose rayon processing plant is described in detail. (auth.)

No abstract available